There is not much kicking around today after a manic few days late last week and early this week, there have been a few amendments to the Champions League squad, Fabregas has said that the media stop him from going to watch his own club play, there is a specialists view on our new man and there is a report on Wenger looking at a 23 year old French midfielder. It sounds more than it really is. Honest.

Lets start with the Champions League squad and Amaury Bischoff has been added along with Frimpong, Henderson and James Dunne, whilst loanees have been taken out the squad such as Jay Simpson, Rui Fonte, Gavin Hoyte, Rene Steer, Abu Ogogo, Paul Rodgers and Henri Lansbury hare all withdrawn. Francis Coquelin has been turfed out the squad as well and i think that could mean he will go out on loan at some point because i can’t see any other reason for him being excluded.

Bischoff puzzles me, i was expecting him to go out on loan for a month or so, just to see what he really is made of. He has a horrific injury record and if we are not careful he will go and the money invested in him will be pretty much wasted with no return. Its a tad confusing.

We are apparently eying up French 23 year old midfielder Yohan Cabaye. He is a Flamini type player but he would command a hefty fee. I can’t believe that about thirty hours after Andrey has signed we are already being linked with players? Wenger is always linked with players like this and i can’t see it happening.

Cesc Fabregas has been talking about how he can’t go and watch Barcelona games whilst he recovers through fear of media speculation,

“I’d have liked to have gone to watch Barcelona in the Nou Camp, but I wanted to avoid all the speculation on my future, Now my only worry is that I recover as soon as possible to return to Arsenal and help my team.”

Its pretty sad to be honest, he is a committed Arsenal player and the media cant seem to accept that for whatever reason. They will end up chasing the country’s best players away if they are not careful.

The club website has got some ‘specialist’ to comment on the Andrey transfer and how he will fit in at the club, the only thing is i recon i have seen more of Arshavin than this man has. All he bangs on about is three games at the EURO’s.

“He was pretty keen to leave last summer after he had those two great games against Sweden and Holland at Euro 2008. I think he realised then just how good he was. Before that, I don’t think he was aware that he could do it on a European scale. So I think he was looking for a move but stayed because of Zenit’s Champions League campaign.”

There have been a few rumours that he has only just started really maturing in recent years, hence why he has only really just appeared on the scene. Wenger was watching him for three years so obviously sees more than those great performances at the EURO’s. This hack however, has really hyped him up, something that worries me,

“I keep hearing people say that ‘he’s only played two good games’, referring to Euro 2008, but the fact is he was brilliant in those games against Sweden and Holland.

“He only played three games in total at the Euros and, OK, he was disappointing against Spain in the Semi-Final. That was partly because Marcos Senna marked him very well but it was also because Spain played 4-1-4-1 when David Villa got injured and managed to push back the Russian full-backs. Part of Russia’s game had been the way the full-backs got forward, and playmakers need players moving around them. Arshavin was clearly restricted by Senna but, equally, he didn’t have those players moving around him. It’s very easy to blame the playmaker for what is actually a systemic failure in the team.

He dominated those games from midfield in a way I haven’t seen anyone do since the days of Michel Platini. To be honest I didn’t think it was possible for someone to dominate like that so I think he really is a very special talent.”

Platini is a bit of a bastard but he was not a bad player at all. All this bigging up really worries me because he will take time to settle in, this increases expectation and a couple of average performances and the press will be on his back faster than he could say ‘owl’. I just hope he is given a chance. His strengths and what type of player he is is summed up here,

“He’s quick, he’s sharp, he reads the game very well, he is a typical Arsène Wenger player in that he seems to have a very acute understanding of where other players are on the pitch. Technically he’s very good, he is diminutive, but he is top, top class.”

Can’t help but agree there.

I would just like to say that ITV are the worst broadcasters since the invention of the television. How dare they claim to offer great coverage when after 157 minutes of nothingness in a game, when the goal occurs, they miss it because of a commercial! Its an utter joke and for all the hate i have for the BBC i wish they had the coverage.